There are two primary types of archery: target archery and field archery. Many archers participate in both target and field archery.
Accuracy in field or target archery depends primarily on consistency. The archer must employ a consistent shooting form; that is, the archer must draw the bow, aim, release, and follow through the same each time the bow is shot. Likewise, the equipment used by the archer must perform consistently each time the bow is shot in order for the arrows to fly in a similar manner.
A traditional problem with respect to bow performance relates to the temperature of the bow limbs. The limbs of a bow store energy when the bow is drawn. This stored energy is transferred to the arrow upon release of the bow string. For the arrows to fly at a common speed, the limbs must store a constant amount of energy for a given bow draw length. When the temperature of the bow limbs varies, the amount of energy stored by the limbs will also vary.
Generally, when the temperature of a bow limb increases, the efficiency and performance of the bow limb changes. An arrow shot from a bow with warm limbs will hit lower on a target at a given distance than an arrow shot from a bow with the same but relatively cooler limbs. This problem generally surfaces in outdoor shooting situations where sunlight may cause the bow limbs to absorb heat, thus reducing performance. With respect to laminated bow limbs, a certain increase in temperature may even cause such bow limbs to delaminate.
Accordingly, there is a need for an archery bow equipment that will minimize heating of bow limbs to enhance the consistency of a bow's performance. There is also a need for equipment that will allow an archer to use a common bow for both field and target archery.